Game Golf Exposure Leaves Users in a Sand Trap of Data Concerns

Apps not only provide users with a form of entertainment, but they also help us become more efficient or learn new things. One such app is Game Golf, which comes as a free app, a paid pro version with coaching tools, or with a wearable analyzer. With over 50,000 downloads on Google Play, the app […]

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Apps not only provide users with a form of entertainment, but they also help us become more efficient or learn new things. One such app is Game Golf, which comes as a free app, a paid pro version with coaching tools, or with a wearable analyzer. With over 50,000 downloads on Google Play, the app helps golfers track their on-course performance and use the data to help improve their game. Unfortunately, millions of golfer records from the Game Golf app were recently exposed to anyone with an internet connection, thanks to a cloud database lacking password protection.

According to researchers, this exposure consisted of millions of records, including details on 134 million rounds of golf, 4.9 million user notifications, and 19.2 million records in an activity feed folder. Additionally, the database contained profile data like usernames, hashed passwords, emails, gender, Facebook IDs, and authorization tokens. The database also contained network information for the company behind the Game Golf app, Game Your Game Inc., including IP addresses, ports, pathways, and storage information that cybercrooks could potentially exploit to further access the network. A combination of all of this data could theoretically provide cybercriminals with more information on the user, creating greater privacy concerns. Thankfully, the database was secured about two weeks after the company was initially notified of the exposure.

Although it is still unclear as to whether cybercriminals took a swing at this data, the magnitude of the information exposed by the app is cause for concern. Luckily, users can follow these tips to help safeguard their data:

Change your passwords. If a cybercriminal got a hold of the exposed data, they could easily gain access into other online accounts if your login credentials were the same across different platforms. Err on the side of caution and change your passwords to something strong and unique for each account.

Check to see if you’ve been affected. If you’ve used the Game Golf app and believe your data might have been exposed, use this tool to check or set an alert to be notified of other potential exposures.